Recreating an Olympic moment with neighbourhood friends and members of the Canadian bobsleigh team is a moment Elouise Perras will never forget.
"It’s like if we were in the Olympics in front of everybody," the eight-year-old said. "I’ve never met an Olympian."
Team Canada’s Cody Sorensen and Mike Evelyn surprised these kids in the Wellington West neighbourhood after video surfaced on social media of Perras and friends jumping onto a sled designed out of snow, inspired by the athletes they watched at the Winter Games in Beijing.
"It happened organically. They had watched so much of (Chris) Spring and (Justin) Kripps and decided to mimic them. It’s like magic in the air," said Perras’ mother, Stephanie.
It took nearly three hours to build the replica out of snow and food colouring was used to mimic the unique design found on Canada’s bobsleighs—- paying homage to the Royal Canadian Navy.
"The sled is to scale, the colours are spot on,” said Sorensen of Ottawa. "I’m impressed with the level of detail."
The sled can be found on the lawn of Ole Sorensen, Cody’s father, as a show of support for his son and all of Canada's athletes.
"I think is kind of the coolest form of community support where kids in the streets of my childhood street are coming together to build the sled," said Cody Sorensen. "It means quite a bit."
"It’s so great to see the neighbourhood kids come out and enjoy the sport we love," said Mike Evelyn, also from Ottawa. "This is why we do this the reason we go out on the big stage is to inspire the next generation of kids."
